Legislative Handout for printing

Attachment: 4531/Legislator_Handout.pdf

George Mason, for example, “verily believed”
that the federal government would become
“oppressive.” Once this happened, the people and
the states would need a process to keep the federal
government in check.

At the 1787 Constitutional Convention, these
concerns led to the creation of the Article V
convention process, enabling the states to forcibly
rein in the federal government

without

approval

from Congress, the president, or anyone else in
Washington. As Alexander Hamilton put it in
Federalist No. 85, “national rulers… will have

no

option

upon the subject.”

The final version of Article V thus gives the same
power to propose constitutional amendments to
Congress and the state legislatures.

So, what exactly does an Article V convention
entail? According to this neglected constitutional
provision, once “two thirds of the several States”
apply for a convention to propose amendments,
Congress “calls” the convention by setting the time
and date for its initial meeting. Implicit in their
power to apply for the convention is the states’
power to set its agenda, so two-thirds of the states
must agree on the subject matter.

In the case of the Convention of States Action
application, the topic of amendments is limited
to (1) imposing fiscal restraints on the federal
government, (2) limiting its power and jurisdiction,
and (3) setting term limits for federal officials.
Once the convention is called, each state legislature
chooses and commissions delegates to represent it at
the convention. Delegates act as the legal “agents”

of their state legislatures and are completely subject
to their instructions and control.

Contrary to popular misconceptions, a convention
cannot “rewrite the Constitution.” Again, Article
V merely gives the convention the same power that
Congress has: the power to

propose

amendments.

Once a majority of the state delegations agree to
an amendment proposal, it goes back to the states
for ratification. Only

after

the proposal crosses

Article V’s 38-state ratification threshold will the
amendment take effect.

And there is nothing Washington can do to stop it.
From beginning to end, this process is entirely in
the hands of the American people, through their
state legislatures.

George Washington once advised, “If in the opinion
of

the people,

the distribution or modification

of the constitutional powers be in any particular
wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the
way which the Constitution designates.”

Convention of States Action, the nonpartisan
Article V grassroots movement, believes our
federal government has taken on too much power
and—according to consistent national polling—
two-thirds of Americans agree with us! So we are
hard at work to use this long-neglected tool to set
things straight. With 19 of the 34 needed states
already on board, we are well on our way.

For more information, visit

ConventionofStates.com

CONVENTION OF STATES

A SOLUTION AS BIG AS OUR FEDERAL PROBLEMS

TRY AS THEY DID TO ENSURE

that the federal government would always remain

accountable to “We the People,” America’s Founding Fathers suspected that one day this
government of, by, and for the people would forget who it was created to serve.

For responses to common fears about the Article V
convention process, watch these short videos:

Bill No.

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Created:	2024-12-13 20:12 GMT
Updated:	2024-12-13 20:29 GMT
Published:	2024-12-13 08:00 GMT
Converted:	2025-11-11 12:34 GMT
Change Author:	Diana Telles
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